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UC-NRLF 


B   M    751   076 


I 


THE    NEW 


Swiss  FAMILY  ROBINSON 


A  TALE   FOR   CHILDREN  OF  ALL  AGES. 


BY 

OWEN     WISTER. 


ILLUSTRATED     BY     F.    NICHOLS. 


NEW  YORK 

DUFFIELD  &  COMPANY 
1922 


Copyright,  1S82, 
BY  CHARLES  W.  SEVKR. 

Copyright  1922,  by 
DUFFTELD   &   COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


/VS" 

/^ 

A?  4 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PACP 

THF.  WRECK.  —  THE  ARRIVAI 7 

CHAPTER    II. 
OUR  HAVEN.  —  A  CURIOUS  ANIMAL.  —  A  TROPICAL  PICNIC .     .      9 

CHAPTER    III. 

Ax  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION.  —  A  TIGER.  —  FRANZ'S  ACCIDENT.  —  STRANGE  HABITS  OF  THE 

MONKEYS n 

CHAPTER    IV. 

OUR  PROPOSED  NEW  ABODE. — THE  IGUANA.  —  THE  BOILSTONE 14 

CHAPTER    V. 
WE  BUILD  OUR  HOUSE.  —  THE  ZEBRA.  —  A  SAIL 16 

CHAPTER    VI. 
THE  ARRIVAL.  —  OUR  VISITORS. — THE  ANACONDA 19 

CHAPTER    VII. 
EOR  BETTER  OR  FOR  WORSE 22 


LIST     OF     ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PACE 

HEADING  ASHORE  FROM  THE  WRECK  ... 7 

INITIAL 

THE  FEMALE  PECCADILLO 

EFFECT  OF  THE  MINT-JULEP  BED   .     .     . 

ii 
INITIAL 

"  TIME  ! " • 

THE  HOLLY  TREE 

"  GENTLEMEN,  THE  JUDGES  HAVE  DECIDED  !  " 

INITIAL 

OUR  FUTURE  HOME      ...... 

HUNTING  THE  IGUANA 

"BOILSTONE" 

16 
INITIAI 

THE  FAMILY  TREE 

"  TAMING  A  JACKASS  "  .     .  •   . 

INITIAL 

THE  FOREIGN  VISITORS      .     .     . 
Miss  HAP  WITH  THE  ANACONDA 

INITIAI 

THE  WEDDING    .     .     . 

MARKED  AITENTIONS  or  THE  MARQUIS 24 


Preface   to  Xczv  Edition 

This  tile  has  been  excavated  from  the  remains  of  a  prehistoric  Harvard  by 
an  optimist  in  the  publishing  line.  Fortunately  it  was  in  good  condition,  its  hiero 
glyphs  clear  and  decipherable. 

Written  forty  years  ago,  thirty-nine  years  ago  was  the  last  time  that  the 
author  looked  at  it,  until  the  other  day  when  the  publisher  brought  it  to  him. 
'He  read  it  without  a  smile ;  and  in  its  day,  in  the  Harvard  Lampoon,  it  split  no 
sides,  showing  but  dully  beside  its  shining  predecessors,  The  Little  Tin  Gods  on 
Wheels,  and  Rollo's  Visit  to  Cambridge. 

"Then  why  unearth  it?"     I  can  already  hear  the  gloomy  critic  ask. 

My  dear  Sir,  my  very  dear  Sir,  this  book  is  no  laughing  matter.  Have  you 
never  inspected  ancient  tiles?  Do  you  not  know  what  immense  reconstructive 
value  to  scholars  the  laundry  bills  of  Rameses  and  Nebuchednezzar  possess  to-day  ? 
The  clay  record  of  a  Pharaoh's  dirty  linen  may  have  not  seemed  funny  to  his 
washerwoman,  but  at  the  British  Museum  archaeologists  will  cluster  round  it 
like  bees  and  ingeniously  gather  from  it  the  manners  and  customs  of  its  extinct 
day. 

So  this  tile  out  of  Ancient  Harvard.  It  will  disclose  the  existence  of  the 
book  of  which  it  is  the  parody.  The  original  Swiss  Family  Robinson  was  written 
to  make  children  good.  Its  inveterate  pointing  of  a  moral  at  every  page,  nearly 
in  every  paragraph,  may  have  been  as  sweet  as  condensed  milk  to  Swiss  children, 
but  American  children  usually  made  faces  when  obliged  to  take  doses  of  it. 

The  hieroglyphs  on  the  tile  disclose  also  much  of  the  undergraduate  life  of 
the  time.  For  example,  in  the  face  of  the  female  peccadillo,  the  archaeological 
expert  will  instantly  read  the  features  and  expression  of  a  goddess  terrible  to 
undergraduates  who  had  anything  on  their  conscience.  She  sat  in  U.  5,  and 
signed  ominous  cards  of  summons.  The  words  Julcpa  Attwoodiana  hold  their 
melancholy  reminder  of  mint  juleps  at  Attwood's  bar  in  Tremont  Street.  At 
that  place  of  our  young  delight  the  "Silver  Fizz"  bloomed  in  a  perfection  worthy 
of  the  gods.  The  holly  tree  whence  eggs  were  dropped  by  the  sad  faced  ape  needs 
very  little  deciphering.  We  who  had  lingered  late  in  Boston,  and  consequently 
late  in  bed,  always  got  our  breakfasts  there.  An  athletic  meeting  in  the  Gym 
nasium  is  plainly  to  be  discerned  elsewhere  upon  the  tile,  and  the  well  built 
gorilla  who  announced  the  winner  of  each  event  was  no  other  than  Evert 
Wendell,  the  Author's  old  and  dear  friend. 

Dear  me,  no,  this  tile  is  no  laughing  matter,  my  good  critic !  Put  it  away 
gently  on  the  shelves  of  the  buried  past. 

Philadelphia,  January  25,  1922.  OWEN  WISTER. 


THE    NEW   SWISS   FAMILY   ROBINSON 


A    TALE    FOR    CHILDREN    OF    ALL    AGES. 


PREFATORY    NOTE. 

IN  re-editing  this  old  favorite,  the  author  feels  that 
the  pleasure  he  has  in  giving  it  to  the  public  will 
he  exceeded  only  by  the  pleasure  the  public  will  take 
in  giving  it  to  him  after  they  have  read  it. 

Little  more  need  be  said. 

With  thanks  for  the  many  kind  hints  the  author 
hns  received  from  various  quarters,  earnestly  entreat 
ing  him  to  discontinue  his  labors,  hints  which  have 
been  prompted,  the  author  feels,  rather  by  an  anxiety 
for  his  health  than  by  an  interest  in  the  book,  he 
begs  leave  to  hope  that  it  will  profit  him  as  much  as 
it  will  profit  the  public,  in  whose  hands  he  now  con 
fidingly  places  it. 

POTTER.SHAM    CENTRE,  Feb.,   l8Sj. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE   WRECK.— THE   ARRIVAL. 

THE  storm  had  raged  for  days  and  days.  Oh  !  it 
was  an  awful  storm,  and  one  which  is  seldom  met 
with  except  near  the  line. 

My  children  were  beginning  to  complain  of  a  swim 


ming  of  the  head,  accompanied  by  yawning  and 
nausea.  I  told  them  that  this  was  a  common  form 
of  disease,  especially  on  the  water,  and  added,  "  It  is 
profitable  for  you  to  see  how  such  trials  may  be  borne 
by  those  who  wish  to  bear  them." 

And  taking  an  oyster,  which  I  had  previpusly  cov 
ered  with  fine  sifted  sugar,  I  swallowed  it  with  a 
courageous  smile.  Abashed  at  once  by  my  example, 
my  dear  children  continued  their  innocent  play,  heed 
less  of  the  reckless  oaths  which  the  cruel  se'amen 
uttered  in  their  fear.  My  beloved  wife  was  in  the 
ladies'  cabin,  reading  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  which 
did  not  seem  to  do  her  very  much  good.  The  waves 
were  running  mountains  high,  and  \ve  were  continu 
ally  in  the  trough  of  the  boisterous  sea.  Amid  this 
truly  sublime,  but  at  the  same  time  terrible  war  of  the 
elements,  I  heard  the  cry  of  "  Land  !  land ! "  and  at 
once  we  landed  upon  a  rock.  Then  arose  a  hideous 
scene  of  distress.  Thousands  of  human  souls  were 
washed  overboard  in  a  moment.  Many  lost  their 
lives.  Some  lost  their  senses.  Piercing  shrieks  rent 
the  startled  air.  Even  the  quiet  cattle  stopped  chew 
ing  their  cud.  My  wife  rushed  into  my  arms,  let 
ting  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  fall  neglected  upon  the 


THE  NEW  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 


wet  deck.*  Around  her  skirts,  wailing,  clung  our 
children.  We  were  an  affecting  spectacle,  —  one  that 
would  make  many  a  thoughtful  parent  shed  tears. 

While  we  were  thus  busily  occupied,  my  son 
Franz,  who  is  ever  on  the  alert,  looked  out  over  the 
main  and  saw  that  the  treacherous  crew  had  got 
away  in  the  life-boat,  and  never  so  much  as  given  us 
warning.  In  vain  we  called  to  them  to  come  back, 
that  they  had  dropped  something.  The  heartless 
men  only  jeered  at  us  in  their  cruel  sport,  as  they 
rowed  further  away,  and  were  lost  amid  the  mist  and 
hubbub.  Then  indeed  we  felt  left. 

Suddenly  my  thoughtful  Ernest  said,  "  Papa,  why 
should  we  not  try  and  contrive  some  means  of  getting 
ashore  ? " 

I  praised  the  lad  heartily  for  his  ingenuity,  and  we 
began  at  once.  But  ere  we  did  this  we  unlocked  the 
poor  animals,  who  came  bounding  about  us  in  their 
simple  joy.  There  were  five  cows,  eighteen  sheep, 
two  horses,  and  a  terrier  called  Tim.  We  little 
thought  then  how  invaluable  Tim  would  be  in  days 
to  come. 

I  then  bade  each  of  my  children  see  what  treasures 
they  could  secure.  They  soon  returned,  and  my 
heart  bounded  as  I  saw  how  fully  we  should  be  pre 
pared  for  any  emergency.  Little  Franz  brought  a 
steel  watch-chain  and  a  bird-cage.  As  he  truly  re 
marked,  we  might  find  birds  in  the  bushes.  Fritz 
brought  an  Oliver  Ditson  edition  of  "The  Pirates  of 
Penzance."  Jack  found  a  pair  of  snow-shoes,  and 
a  time-table  of  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad. 
Ernest  brought  a  Japanese  parasol  and  a  photograph 
of  the  Greek  play. 

But  my  dear  wife  found  the  chief  treasures.  She 
came  triumphant,  with  a  little  air-pistol,  and  a  box  of 
darts  made  expressly  for  it.  We  felt  truly  thankful 
for  this  discovery,  since  what  had  hitherto  been  but 
a  pretty  toy  was  now  to  become  our  defence  against 
bears  and  lions.  My  wife  also  found  a  set  of  strange 
but  beautiful  dresses,  of  all  colors,  made  of  the  light 
est  gauze,  and  very  short.  She  laughed  gayly  as  she 
approached  me  holding  them  up. 

"  You  would  not  laugh  so  much,"  said  I,  ''if  you 
realized  the  importance  of  your  discovery  " 

She  became  serious,  and  I  explained  tint,  besides 
being  a  light  and  suitable  apparel  for  the  tropical 
climate,  should  we  ever  reach  the  shore,  it  was  an  ex 
cellent  suit  for  her  to  wear  at  once,  as  it  would  not 
incommode  her  motions  at  all  in  our  journey  to  the 
land.  She  joyfully  thanked  me  and  hastened  to  her 
cabin. 

"  I  wonder  what  they  are  meant  for  ? ''  I  mused. 

"'I   think,  sir,    I    have    seen  something  like   them 


*  This  carelessness  may  be  pardoned  ;it  .--uc\>  a  moment. 


before,  sir,"  said  my  eldest  son  Fritz,  a  bright  lad  of 
fifteen  years. 

"  Where  ? "  inquired  I,  rather  sharply. 
"  I  forget  now,  sir,  but  I  will  try  to  think,"  replied 
the  boy. 

In  the  mean  time  I  had  found  many  treasures  my 
self;  among  others  six  water-velocipedes.  These 
had  been  destined  for  trading  with  the  natives  of  the 
Friendly  Islands. 

"  Why,  father,"  inquired  my  little  Franz,  laughing, 
"  what  would  savages  do  with  those  ? " 

"If  you  would  think  more  and  talk  less,"  said  I 
gravely,  "  you  would  probably  not  ask  so  many  fool 
ish  questions." 

But  as  the  little  fellow  already  hung  his  head  and 
was  making  ready  to  cry  at  my  rebuke,  I  kindly  ex 
plained  to  him  that  the  natives  of  the  Friendly 
Islands  are  so  very  friendly  that  they  are  constantly 
calling  on  each  other  and  staying  to  tea.  And  in 
these  visits  from  island  to  island,  water-velocipedes 
would  be  both  simple  and  satisfactory.  Hardly  had 
I  finished  my  explanation  when  a  strange  sound  was 
heard,  and,  quickly  looking  up,  I  perceived  my  dear 
wife,  gayly  attired  in  a  pink  gauze  dress  covered 
with  silver  spangles,  approaching  with  many  graceful 
bounds. 

My  children  clung  around  me  and  shed  tears  6f 
unfeigned  joy  at  having  such  a  mother.  Then  we 
joined  hands  fervently,  and  moved  in  a  sad  circle 
about  her,  as  she,  poised  on  one  foot,  turned  round 
on  the  other,  in  order  to  be  able  to  follow  our  move 
ments.  Then  came  a  lurch  and  a  crash. 

My  son  Jack,  with  his  usual  keen  observation,  said, 
"Father,  I  think  something  broke." 

I  patted  him  gently  on  the  head,  and  told  him  that 
he  was  probably  right. 

"How  shall  we  go  ashore?"  asked  Ernest. 

"  I  wish  we  were  natives  of  the  Friendly  Islands  !  " 
cried  Fritz. 

"  My  son,  you  have  hit  upon  a  capital  idea,"  I  re 
plied.  "  Run  and  bring  those  velocipedes  at  once." 

I  packed  our  cargo  in  a  number  of  large  hencoops. 
Behind  these  I  tied  the  patient  animals,  who  lowed 
intelligently. 

"  Moo  !  moo  !  you  old  cows  !  "  said  Fritz,  thought 
lessly. 

I  chid  the  boy  for  mocking  at  dumb  animals,  and 
then  bade  my  wife  mount  the  first  velocipede.  This 
she  did,  displaying  much  agility. 

She  exclaimed,  "  I  have  left  my  bag  behind  ! " 

"  What  is  your  bag?  "  I  asked. 

"It  is  what  I  keep  a  few  necessaries  in,"  she  an 
swered,  as  Ernest  found  it  and  tossed  it  skilfully 
over  her  head,  so  that  it  hung  down  behind  and  made 
a  graceful  and  convenient  ornament. 


OUR   HAVEN.  — A    CURIOUS  ANIMAL. 


My  wife  then  threw  forward  one  of  her  feet,  and 
kicked  a  hole  in  the  gunwale,  through  which  she 
rode  into  the  water.  My  children  shouted  with  de 
light,  and  eagerly  followed  her  on  their  velocipedes, 
though  I  reminded  them  that  we  were  saving  our 
lives,  and  were  not  on  an  excursion  for  pleasure. 
Thus  we  made  our  journey. 

First  came  my  dear,  brave  wife,  attired  in  the  gay 
dress  she  had  found.  Then  our  youngest  son  Franz, 
a  tender  bud  of  seven;  next  him,  Jack,  bold,  fearless, 
but  rash  at  times ;  next  Ernest,  a  boy  of  twelve, 
thoughtful  but  indolent;  after  him  my  first-born, 
Fritz,  a  sturdy  lad  of  fifteen,  armed  with  the  air-pistol. 
Finally  I  myself,  the  anxious,  loving  father,  steering 
behind  them  all,  with  a  rubber  belt  tied  round  my 
waist,  to  which  were  fastened,  by  a  long  string,  the 
hencoops  and  animals. 

The  perilous  way  was  accomplished,  we  turned  the 
rocky  corner,  and  landed  on  a  pleasant  triangular 
piece  of  sward,  overhung  by  a  frowning  pile  of  archi 
tectural  rock,  which  I  said  should  be  called  Memorial, 
as  a  monument  to  our  safe  return  to  terra  firma. 


CHAPTER    II. 

OUR  HAVEN. — A  CURIOUS  ANIMAL.  —  A  TROPICAL  PICNIC. 

R  RIVED  on  land  at 
last,  we  felt  that  we 
had  been  through  a 
good  deal.  Fritz  re 
marked  that  he  would 
not  go  through  so 
much  again  for  any 
thing. 

I    told   him  that  I 
disapproved     of    his 

...*    •£*"-•-•»'  .-.  hasty     speech,     arid 

"  "Yl'^Tv^t  '  /  •'•'•  --'  ••  ift 

•"•txJU*?  '••..,..,  tliat    jie    u-ouici    ccr. 

tainly  go  through  it  again,  were  he  placed  in  a  similar 
situation. 

We  now  began  to  look  about.  Our  position  for 
the  present  was  safe,  but  unsatisfactory,  as  the  sun, 
which  is  very  hot  in  the  tropics,  poured  down  upon 
our  heads. 

"  I  wish  the  old  sun  would  go  out,  and  not  shine 
so."  said  Franz  pettishly. 

"  My  son,  you  have  made  a  very  wicked  speech," 
I  replied,  "and  if  we  find  bread  and  water  on  the 
island,  you  shall  be  fed  upon  it  for  several  days." 

Franz  hung  his  head,  and  endeavored  to  hide 
behind  the  skirts  of  his  mother.  But  finding  that 
she  wore  none  that  came  sufficiently  near  the  ground 
(he  was  but  a  little  fellow)  he  contented  himself  with 


getting  in  the  rear  of  the  party.  The  mention  of 
bread  and  water  reminded  all  of  us  that  we  were 
hungry. 

"  Let  us  get  in  the  shade  yonder,"  said  my  wife, 
"  and  I  will  see  what  I  can  do  for  dinner." 

We  thanked  her  for  her  kind  promise,  and  pro 
ceeded  over  the  grass  to  the  other  side  of  the  huge 
rock  I  had  christened  Memorial.  Here  we  found  a 


THE   FEMALE   PECCADILLO. 

cool  stream  that  ran  down  a  bank  out  of  a  beautiful 
forest.  In  the  forest  we  could  see  many  trees.  As  I 
was  observing  them,  a  loud  shriek  from  Jack  made  us 
all  start. 

"  Do  you  see  anything?"  I  asked  anxiously,  as  I 
loaded  the  air-pistol.  I  was  answered  by  furious 
barks  from  Tim  ;  and  following  the  sound,  I  saw  the 
cause  of  my  son's  fear  was  no  less  than  a  fine  speci 
men  of  the  female  Peccadillo. 

I  bade  them  have  no  fear. 

"The  Peccadillo,  or  Flagitinm parvnliitn"  I  con 
tinued,  "lives  in  climates  where  it  is  extremely  hot, 
or  extremely  cold.  We  find  it  also  where  it  is  nei 
ther  the  one  nor  the  other.  It  is  peculiarly  adapted 
to  endure  life  in  the  open  air,  but  can  frequent  houses, 
trees,  and  holes  in  the  ground  at  will.  It  is  a  verte 
brate  animal  and  belongs  to  the  Mammalia.  It  is 
most  vulnerable  in  its  head,  which  if  you  cut  in  half 
with  a  sharp  blow  from  an  axe,  death  will  follow 
almost  invariably.  This  weakness  of  the  hca'l  is 
admirably  protected  by  the  animal's  tail,  branching 
into  five  or  six  strands  of  well-articulated  joints,  con 
nected  by  a  membrane  similar  to  that  we  find  in  the 
wing  of  the  Bat.  In  severe  weather  of  any  kind,  it 
spreads  this  tail  over  its  head,  and  fearlessly  proceeds 
on  its  way. 

"  The  Peccadillo  lays  a  large  and  handsome  egg, 
of  a  delicate  pink  color,  spotted  with  chocolate. 
When  the  egg  has  been  laid,  the  female  Peccadillo 
calls  the  male  Peccadillo,  who  sits  heavily  upon  the 
egg,  which  breaks  immediately,  and  the  young  Pec- 


10 


THE  NEW  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 


EFFECT  OF  THE  MINT-JULEP  BED. 


cadillo  runs  out  with  shrill  cries.  This  animal  is  harm 
less,  except  when  it  attacks  you.  Then  it  becomes 
very  dangerous.  Its  flesh  is,  when  cooked,  tender  and 
savory,  and  will  make  a  capital  dinner  for  us  to-day." 

As  I  concluded,  my  wife  took  a  large  axe  out  of 
her  bag,  and  the  Peccadillo  was  soon  roasting  over  a 
good  fire.  My  son  Ernest,  picking  an  oyster-shell 
out  of  the  sand,  cut  off  a  dainty  slice  for  himself,  and, 
smiling  complacently,  set  it  aside  to  cool. 

"  Prudence,"  I  observed  quietly,  "  is  a  quality  that 
should  be  exercised  for  others  as  well  as  for  ourselves. 
You  may  give  that  slice  of  Peccadillo  to  me,  Ernest." 

The  boy  winced  as  I  slowly  swallowed  the  morsel. 
So  did  I. 

When  I  had  finished,  I  continued,  "  Do  not  for  a 
moment  suppose  that  I  enjoyed  that  Peccadillo. 
On  the  contrary,  it  gave  me  great  pain  to  eat  it." 

Ernest,  whose  irritable  temper  had  always  been  a 
care  and  a  grief  to  me,  said,  "  That  is  probably  be 
cause  the  flesh  was-not  cooled  sufficiently." 

As  he  placed  himself  in  such  a  position  that  the 
fire  and  the  running  stream  were  between  us,  I  con 
tented  myself  with  a  reproachful  look,  that  soon  melted 
the  boy.  He  lay  down  upon  the  grassy  bank  and 
sobbed  silently. 

All  the  rest,  in  the  mean  while,  were  busily  getting 
dinner  ready.  ••  What  shall  we  do  for  a  table-cloth, 
father?  "  asked  Fritz,  whose  neatness  was  one  of  his 
most  amiable  characteristics. 


"Your  intelligent  question,"  I  replied,  "has  puz 
zled  me  not  a  little." 

A  loud  roar,  and  a  scream  from  my  wife  brought 
us  all  on  our  feet.  "  Help  me  !  "  she  entreated,  "  I 
have  put  my  foot  in  it." 

I  approached  her  cautiously,  and  observed  some 
thing  rustling  along  in  the  grass.  The  air-pistol 
was  ready  to  hand.  I  fired  at  the  noise,  and  a  sec 
ond  loud  roar  rent  the  air.  Then  all  was  still.  I 
bent  over  my  victim,  and  discovered  a  huge  creature 
lying  dead  upon  its  back.  I  recognized  a  terrible 
Bogino  furiosHs,  or  Cannibal  Spider,  in  whose  web 
my  wife  had  been  caught.  We  embraced  each  other 
thankfully.  A  moment  more,  and  I  should  have  been 
too  late.  "  But  now,  Fritz."  I  said  smiling,  "  here  is 
a  table-cloth  for  you."  And  carefully  lifting  the  web 
of  the  Furiosus  from  the  long  grass,  I  displayed  it,  to 
the  delight  of  all.  It  made  indeed  a  sumptuous  orna 
ment  ;  as  the  wild  insect  displays  great  taste  in  fash 
ioning  its  odd  home,  and  weaves  ferns  and  oak-leaves 
into  the  rich  texture. 

"  How  about  forks  and  knives  ?  "  inquired  Jack. 

My  dear  wife  smiled  mysteriously,  and  drew  a  com 
plete  set  from  the  bag.  They  had  belonged  to  the 
captain  of  the  lost  crew. 

"  We  shall  do  very  well,"  said  I.  And  we  did  very 
well  indeed.  We  moved  the  table-cloth  up  on  the 
soft  green  bank,  and  set  the  roasted  Peccadillo 
upon  it. 


A    TROPICAL   PLANT.  — AN  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION. 


1 1 


"  What  is  this  strange  and  aromatic  odor  ?  "  asked 
my  wife. 

I  immediately  picked  a  plant  which  grew  plente- 
ously  on  the  bank,  and  observed  it.  A  clear  pungent 
liquid  flowed  from  the  broken  stalk,  and  I  recognized 
a  bed  of  that  delicious  herb  the  Julepa  Attwoodiana. 
"It  is  mint, — tropical  mint!" — I  joyfully  cried, 
"and  its  sap  is  sweet  and  strong." 

"  Are  you  sure  that  it  is  not  poisonous  ?  "  my  brave 
wife  asked  anxiously. 

"  It  is  perfectly  safe,  my  dear,  though  I  laud  your 
prudence.  Let  us  all  take  some  ;  it  will  refresh  us." 
We  felt  very  thankful  at  this  discovery,  and  the  flesh 
of  the  Peccadillo  improved  our  spirits  wonderfully. 

"  I  am  feeling  very  well,  father,"  said  Fritz,  breaking 
off  another  stalk  of  the  Julepa  Attwoodiana. 

"  So  am  I,"  said  little  Franz. 

"  Itsh  perfectly  right  that  you  should,  my  dear  shil- 
drensh,"  I  said  gayly ;  and  they  laughed  merrily. 

"  Mother  thing  about  the  Pec  .  .  .  the  Pec  .  .  ." 

"...  adillo  do  you  mean,  father  ?  " 

"  Yesh.  Itsh  feet  are  very  thin-skinned.  So  in 
damp  weather  the  long  hair  that  growsh  on  top  of 
them  closes  round  underneath  his  sholesh,  and  thush 
they  don't  get  wet." 

"  Father,  why  are  there  two  suns  in  the  sky  ?  " 
asked  Ernest. 

"Three,"  said  Fritz  correcting  him. 

I  explained  that  this  was  one  of  the  commonest 
phenomena  in  the  tropics,  and  that  we  often  can  see 
many  more.  As  we  had  now  finished  dinner,  fortune 
did  not  seem  to  frown  so  harshly  upon  us,  and  a  joy 
ful  hilarity  pervaded  us  all  as  we  sat  upon  this  desert 
isle.  My  dear  wife,  with  a  graceful  movement,  sprang 
from  her  sent  and  spread  the  parasol.  As  a  balmy 
breeze  was  blowing  from  the  forest,  it  served  her  as  a 
parachute,  and  she  floated  lightly  up  into  a  great 
"banyan-tree  that  stood  at  the  edge  of  the  forest.  I 
was  anxious  for  her  safety,  and  beckoned  her  to  come 
down  ;  but  she  smiled  kindly  at  me,  and"  refused.  In 
the  mean  while  little  Franz  got  the  bird-cage  he  had 
brought  ashore,  and,  putting  his  head  in  through  the 
door,  cried  merrily,  '•  I  've  eaten  the  canary!" 

I  was  glad  to  see  my  dear  children  enjoying  them 
selves,  so  I  made  a  collar  out  of  the  Boston  and 
Albany  time  table,  and  putting  it  on,  joined  in  the 
dance.  Fritz  and  Ernest,  linked  together  by  the  steel 
watch-chain,  opened  the  Oliver  Ditson  edition  of  the 
"  Pirates  of  Penzance,"  and  sang  duets  with  their 
sweet  young  voices ;  while  Jack,  determined  that  he 
should  not  he  beaten,  grasped  the  dog  Tim,  and,  hold 
ing  him  like  an  organ,  turned  his  tail  round  and 
round  very  ingeniously.  This  constituted  our  simple 
orchestra,  and  we  were  very  happy.  By  and  by  the 
sun  set,  and  we  went  to  repose. 


CHAPTER   III. 

AN  EXPLORING    EXPEDITION    — A  TIGER.  —  FRANZ'S  ACCI 
DENT. —  STRANGE   HABITS   OF  THE   MONKEYS. 


HE   next  day   when   we 
awoke    the    sun   was 
already    high    in    the 
heavens.   My  children 
complained  that  their 
hats  were  too  small  for 
them     this     morning, 
and    Ernest    assured 
\  me  that  his  had  shrunk 
,'>£at  least  three  sizes. 

"  My  dear  children, 
this  is  theeffectof.  .  ." 

"The  Julepa  Attwoodiana,  father  ?"  asked  Fritz, 
with  an  expression  of  countenance  I  was  at  a  loss  to 
understand. 

"  Not  at  all,"  I  replied  severely  ;  "what  could  that 
have  to  do  with  it?  It  is  the  effect  of  the  tropical 
dew,  which  falls  in  large  quantities  as  soon  as  the  twi 
light  sets  in." 

I  then  explained  to  them  as  well  as  I  could  the 
peculiar  properties  of  tropical  dew,  which  entertained 
them  very  much. 

"Indeed,  father,"  said  Ernest,  "instruction  and 
amusement  go  hand  in  hand  for  us." 

I  was  pleased  with  the  spirit  of  contentment  that 
prevailed  among  my  children,  and  gave  them  a  five- 
cent  piece  all  round,  begging  them  not  to  spend  it. 
I  also  begged  them  to  wear  their  hats  patiently,  say 
ing  that  as  the  day  wore  on  they  would  resume  their 
natural  size. 

My  dear  wife  then  proposed  an  exploring  expedi 
tion,  to  find  out  where  we  could  best  dwell. 

"  No,  no,  mamma,"  said  Jack,  "let  us  rather  rest  in 
the  shade,  for  we  feel  tired." 

"Indifference,"  I  replied,  "to  the  natural  beauties 
of  a  strange  place,  is  a  vice  that  should  at  aU  times  be 
restrained.  Your  mamma.  Jack,  is  no  doubt  as  weary 
as  you  are  ;  but  she  is  right,  —  we  will  proceed." 

"What  are  you  doing,  Franz?"  I  asked  rs  we 
were  starting.  For  the  little  fellow  was  trudging 
along,  carrying  Tim  under  his  arm. 

"Why,  father,"  he  replied,  "once  you  told  me 
about  a  strong  man,  I  think  his  name  was  Milo,  and 
he  had  a  tiny  calf,  and  he  used  to  carry  it  about  every 
where.  It  grew  bigger  and  bigger,  but  still  he  car 
ried  it  often,  till  at  last  he  grew  so  strong  that,  when 
it  was  quite  a  great  big  ox,  he  could  lift  it  as  easily  as 
ever.  And  so  you  see,  if  I  take  care  of  our  wee  Tim, 
perhaps  he  will  grow  to  a  great  big  mastiff,  and  I  shall 
be  ever  so  strong." 


12 


THE  NEW  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON, 


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"  TIME!" 


I  smiled  at  the  child's  simplicity,  and  his  funny  ap 
plication  of  the  story  of  Milo  of  Crotona.  But  I  bade 
him  put  the  dog  down,  and  then  dived  into  the  jungle, 
holding  the  air-pistol  ready  cocked  in  front  of  me. 
They  followed  me  in  procession,  Tim  and  the  other 
animals  bringing  up  the  rear. 

Suddenly  a  low  roar  sounded  in  the  thicket,  and 
the  next  moment  we  found  ourselves  in  the  presence 
of  a  tiger. 

"Do  not  fear,  children,"  I  said  cheerfully;  "no 
wild  beast,  however  ferocious,  can  long  resist  the 
gize  of  the  human  eye.  Let  us  all  look  at  him." 

The  sullen  orb  of  the  animal  encountered  my  firm 
look.  Abashed  he  turned  towards  my  wife,  who  met 
him  with  a  proud,  well-bred  stare.  Each  of  my  dear 
children  were  ready  with  opera-glasses  and  telescopes, 
which  my  brave  wife  produced  from  her  wonderful 
bag  without  hesitation.  But  she  and  I  had  been 
enough  for  him.  With  a  low  howl  of  embarrassment 
the  man-eating  monster  turned,  and  walked  awkwardly 
away.  It  was  a  Princeton  Tiger,  No.  One. 

We  then  proceeded  with  light  hearts,  occasionally 
relieving  the  monotony  of  the  march  with  psalmody. 
While  in  the  midst  of  a  melody,  a  frightful  discord 
stopped  us  short. 


"  Shall  I  get  the  telescopes,  father?''  said  Frit/. 

"  No,  my  son  ;  this  is  not  a  tiger,"  I  replied,  as  I 
recognized,  from  description,  the  whirring  song  of  the 
Singer. 

"  There,  in  the  tree,  father/'  cried  little  Franz. 

"  My  child,"  I  said,  ''this  is  indeed  providential." 
And,  taking  a  quick  aim,  I  fired.  The  loud  report  of 
the  air-pistol  resounded  through  the  forest,  and  the 
wild  bird  came  fluttering  down,  slightly  wounded.  I 
showed  them  his  perforated  bill. 

"  The  singer,"  I  continued,  "  is  one  of  the  newest 
discoveries  among  tropical  birds.  It  is  a  sort  of 
woodpecker,  and  bores  to  great  depths.  It  is  a  neat 
bird,  and  with  a  rapid  head  movement  will  hemstitch 
its  nest  in  a  few  moments,  inserting  the  fibres  of  the 
cotton  plant  through  the  hole  at  the  end  of  its  bill  as 
it  sits  in  the  crotch  of  some  mighty  bandanna-tree, 
and  sings  its  merry  song.  If  our  good  mother  can 
train  it,  it  will  mend  all  our  clothes  for  us." 

I  was  interrupted  by  a  smash,  and  a  scream  from 
Franz.  The  little  fellow  had  received  i.  severe  blow 
on  the  head  from  something  which  had  broken,  and 
was  running  down  his  face  in  yellow  streaks. 

"  Where  did  it  come  from,  my  son  ? "  I  asked 
anxiously. 


STRANGE  HABITS  OF  THE  MONKEYS. 


THE  HOLLY  TREE. 

I  was  answered  by  a  sharp  knock  on  my  own  head, 
and  on  looking  up  was  met  by  another  in  my  face. 

"  It  is  egg  !  it  is  egg  !  "  said  Jack,  holding  his  sides 
with  laughter. 

I  opened  my  mouth  to  chide  the  boy  for  his  bad 
manners,  and  was  just  in  time  to  receive  a  fourth 
egg,  which  rendered  me  speechless  with  surprise. 
We  then  retired  under  my  dear  wife's  parasol,  and 
looked  cautiously  about. 

"  Why,  it  's  in  the  tree  !  "  said  Fritz. 
I  looked  up  and  saw  a  tall  tree  with  prickly  leaves 
and  red  berries.  On  it  were  growing  quantities  of 
eggs.  I  recognized  at  once  the  Holly  Tree,  and  on 
closer  examination  I  perceived,  hidden  in  the  recesses 
of  its  branches,  a  large  ape,  with  a  sad,  sad  face. 
When  any  of  us  approached  within  reach,  he  imme 
diately  dropped  two  eggs. 

My  dear  wife,  producing  a  mackerel  net  from  her 
bag,  took  hold  of  one  end.  We  spread  this  under  the 
foliage  of  the  Holly  Tree,  and  the  sad-looking  ape 
dropped  eggs  amid  the  death-like  stillness  of  the 
tropical  noon.  We  breakfasted  on  the  dropped  eggs, 
and  continued  our  march,  feeling  very  happy  at  our 
discoveries. 

By  this  time  we  had  got  far  into  the  forest,  and,  as 
we  slowly  journeyed  along,  we  saw  quantities  of  mon 
keys  hurrying  from  every  side  toward  the  same  spot. 

"  What  are  they  doing,  father  ? "  asked  Ernest, 
who  was  a  close  observer  of  the  habits  of  our  dumb 
four-footed  friends. 

"  I  do  not  quite  know,  my  son,"  I  replied. 

"  Let  's  run  along  with  them,  cried  Jack  gleefully  ; 
and  soon  we  found  ourselves  in  the  strange  race. 

Presently  we  ran  up  some  rocks,  at  the  top  of  which 
grew  two  trees,  very  close  together.  These  seemed  to 
be  the  only  entrance  to  a  thicket  whose  walls  were 
made  of  closely  interlaced  creepers.  The  monkeys 
were  squeezing  by,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  a  larger 


monkey  to  prevent  them.  We  squeezed  in  with  the 
rest,  and  presently  found  ourselves  seated  on  creepers 
that  ran  like  swings  between  the  trees.  Everywhere, 
low  and  high,  on  the  ground  and  in  the  branches, 
peered  the  quaint  faces  of  the  monkeys,  and  their 
noisy  chatter  sounded  shrilly.  Presently  three  larger 
apes  stepped  out  and  began  to  jump  about  some 
branches  that  were  placed  on  the  ground.  They  fol 
lowed  each  other  in  succession,  and  one  ape  would 
try  to  outdo  his  fellow-apes  in  strange  freaks  ;  now 
cleverly  balancing  on  his  fore  legs,  and  throwing  his 
hind  legs  around  them,  and  so  resuming  his  seat  : 
and  now  hanging  by  his  tail,  and  jumping  along  like 
a  grasshopper. 

"  What  are  they  trying  to  do,  father  ? ''  asked  Franz. 

"  Wait  and  see,"  I  said,  for  I  was  at  a  loss  for  a 
reply. 

Presently  a  well-built  gorilla  stepped  out  from 
between  the  trees,  and,  after  consulting  a  card,  an 
nounced  that  one  of  the  monkeys  had  done  better 
than  the  rest. 


"GENTLEMEN,  THE  JUDGES  HAVE  DECIDED  .  .  ." 

Many  trials  of  skill  then  ensued.  After  a  while 
two  Nubian  Howlers  stepped  out  and  began  punching 
each  other's  heads.  One  Nubian  Howler  soon  got 
the  worst  of  it,  and  the  well-built  gorilla  announced 
that  the  other  had  won. 

After  a  few  more  events,  a  small  Blue  Faced  Teazer 
and  a  Marmoset  came  tripping  out,  and  the  well-built 
gorilla  said  to  the  assembly,  "  This  is  Mr.  Teazer,  and 
this  is  Mr.  Marmoset  ;  "  upon  which  the  animals  im 
mediately  jumped  on  each  other,  and  began  to  writhe 
round,  seeing  which  could  get  the  other  on  his  back 
first. 

Much  excitement  ensued.  Cries  of  "  Good  for 
Marmoset !  "  «•  Go  it,  Teazer  !  »  resounded  in  all 
directions.  My  dear  wife  grew  so  excited  that  she 


THE  NEW  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 


jumped  clown  and  followed  them  about  to  judge  of 
their  movements,  and  see  that  the  thing  was  done 
properly.  I  for  my  part,  after  enjoining  my  children 
to  restrain  themselves,  stepped  down,  and,  holding 
my  open  watch  in  my  hand,  called  "  Time  !  "  when  a 
fall  occurred. 

After  three  trials,  the  Blue  Faced  Teazer  got  two 
falls,  and  the  well-built  gorilla,  stepping  out,  gave  a 
large  cocoanut  to  the  Marmoset,  whereupon  much 
applause  ensued.  By  and  by  the  night  drew  on,  and 
the  last  and  most  exciting  event  came  off. 

A  train  of  eighty-two  monkeys  lay  flat  down  on 
their  backs,  and  each  monkey  coiled  his  tail  around 
the  throat  of  the  monkey  next  in  front  of  him.  The 
front  monkey  took  hold  of  the  tail  of  the  front  monkey 
of  i  second  train,  consisting  of  eighty-three  monkeys 
lying  opposite,  and  linked  in  the  same  ingenious  man 
ner.  At  a  given  word,  the  two  front  monkeys  pulled 
each  others  tails  violently.  There  was  a  silence  of 
four  minutes,  when  the  eighty-third  and  last  monkey 
rose  from  his  position  with  a  loud  shriek,  and  the 
eighty-two  monkeys  were  victorious. 

Much  pleased  with  what  the^  had  seen,  my  dear 
children  retired  for  the  night,  and  I  sat  up  and  won 
dered  what  would  happen  next. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

OUR   PROPOSED   NEW  ABODE. — THE   IGUANA. — THE  BOIL- 
STONE. 

OME  time  after 
our  interesting  and 
instructive  adven 
ture  with  the  mon 
keys  in  the  forest, 
my  dear  children 
earnestly  begged 
me  to  give  them 
an  account  of  those 
animals,  their  hab 
its  and  their  pe 
culiarities,  which  I 
gladly  did. 

"  Father,  you  know  everything,"  said  my  little 
Franz. 

I  hastened  to  assure  the  child  that  I  did  not  know 
everything  by  any  means,  in  which  the  rest  of  my  be 
loved  family  heartily  agreed  with  me.  I  was  pleased 
to  see  this  pleasant  spirit  of  unanimity  in  our  little 
company,  and  we  cheerily  pursued  our  way  through 
the  forest. 

We  found  a  great  many  useful  and  wholesome  vege 
tables,  which  we  ate  in  large  quantities,  seating  our- 


selves  beneath  the  luxuriant  shade  of  the  bandanna 
tree.  The  food  we  did  not  eat  my  brave  wife  put 
into  her  bag  for  pickles  and  preserves. 

Among  other  tropical  fruits  and  vegetables,  we 
found  many  acres  of  Yum-yums,  and  several  fine 
specimens  of  Jym-Jams.  The  latter  had  always  been 


OUR   FUTURE   HOME. 

a  great  favorite  with  us  at  home,  where  we  had  often 
had  them. 

As  we  wandered  along,  culling  a  cocoanut  here  and 
a  gourd  there,  we  came  into  a  rocky  enclosure,  quad 
rilateral  in  shape.  Many  massive  groups  of  rock 
stood  all  around  it,  forming  the  sides.  Most  of  these 
were  red,  but  one  was  white,  and  very  beautiful.  On 
it  the  centuries  had  written  their  records,  which  we 
read  with  interest.  The  blessing  of  Providence  was 
bestowed  on  some  one,  but  we  could  not  make  out 
who,  for  the  rock  was  damp,  and  these  great  truths 
of  nature  indistinct  therefore.  In  this  enclosure  grew 
many  tall  and  beautiful  trees;  one  of  these  seemed  to 
please  my  clear  wife  particularly.  It  was  a  beech-tree, 
growing  in  a  slight  depression  of  the  ground,  and  lift 
ing  itself  gracefully  upwards. 

"O.  if  we  could  cease  sleeping  upon  the  cold 
ground,  and  live  up  there  !  "  said  my  wife. 

I  laughed  gayly  at  her  pleasantry,  but  she  said  she 
meant  it. 

"  My  dear  ..."  I  began. 

"  Do  you  not  see,"  she  continued  eagerly,  "an  ele 
phant  cannot  climb  a  tree  ;  nor  can  many  other  fierce 


HUNTING    THE  IGUANA. 


x?&^> 

>  <z4&SKl-&Zi 


HSKuaarafe  ^sass 


HUNTING  THE   IGUANA. 


beasts,  who  would  crush  us  if  they  trod  upon  us  while 
we  were  sleeping  On  the  ground.  We  should  be  safe 
from  them  at  any  rntc. 

"If  the  tree  is  hollow,  and  will  permit  an  inside 
staircase,  I  will  consider  the  matter,"  I  replied. 

I  then  bade  Ernest  test  the  tree,  and  see  whether 
it  were  hollow.  This  he  did  with  some  ingenuity, 
knocking  his  head  repeatedly  against  the  gigantic 
trunk.  A  hollow  sound  was  the  immediate  result. 

"  Then  we  are  saved  !  "  exclaimed  my  dear  wife. 

"Are  you  sure,  my  son,"  I  asked,  "'that  it  is  the 
tree  which  is  making  this  hollow  sound,  and  not  your 
head  ?  " 

The  lad  assured  me  with  tears  in  his  eyes  that  it 
was  the  tree  ;  so  we  continued  our  way,  determining 
to  return  on  the  morrow  and  begin  work.  I  marked 
the  spot  by  tying  a  pocket  handkerchief  to  a  Smahl- 
bhut-Omy  bush  that  grew  near  the  spot. 

We  had  not  proceeded  many  rods  before  Fritz,  who 
was  in  advance  of  our  little  party,  came  rushing  back 
shouting,  "  A  crocodile,  father,  a  crocodile  !  " 

"  Ha,  ha  ! »  laughed  Franz,  "  the  idea  of  a  land 
crocodile !  " 

I  peremptorily  ordered  the  boy  to  cease  his  idle 
gibing.  '«  For  the  animal,"  I  continued,  "  which  your 
good  brother  Fritz  has  mistaken  for  a  crocodile  is  no 
less  than  an  Iguana,  or  gigantic  lizard.  And  so  your 
heedless  laughter  is  ill-timed." 


We  saw  the  animal  fast  asleep  in  the  sun.  Jack, 
snatching  some  salt  out  of  my  wife's  bag,  approached 
the  Iguana. 

"  Come  back,  my  son  ;  the  Iguana  cannot  be  cap 
tured  in  that  manner.  We  must  use  gentler  means." 

"Are  you  going  to  kiss  it,  father?"  asked  Fritz 
with  a  grin. 

I  tried  to  chide  the  boy  for  his  impertinence,  but, 
failing,  I  began  operations  on  the  Iguana. 

I  bade  my  brave  wife  take  her  stand  on  the  grassy 
mead  and  begin  to  dance,  slowly  at  first,  and  then 
increasing  in  rapidity.  Meanwhile  I  formed  the  rest 
of  my  dear  family  in  a  line,  one  behind  the  other,  and 
told  them  to  imitate  my  movements.  Out  of  my  wife's 
bag  I  took  a  trumpet,  an  accordion,  a  flute,  and  a 
triangle ;  these  I  gave  to  Fritz,  Jack,  Ernest,  and 
Franz  respectively.  This  done,  I  placed  myself  at 
the  head  of  the  precioi>«  little  party,  and,  adopting  a 
quaint  but  graceful  step,  I  approached  the  Iguana 
slowly,  humming  Sullivan's  "  Lost  Chord  "  in  a  low, 
sweet  voice. 

The  animal  moved  uneasily  in  its  slumber.  Pleased 
with  this  symptom,  I  quickened  my  step  and  sang  a 
chorus  from  Wagner's  "  Gotterdammrung."  The 
animal  relaxed  its  stern  expression  at  the  sweet 
melody,  and  was  evidently  dreaming  about  us.  I 
again  quickened  my  step,  and  drew  nearer,  singing 
"  I  arise  from  Dreams  of  Thee  "  to  some  music  of  my 


i6 


THE  NEW  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON, 


own  composition.     This  thoroughly  aroused  the  ani 
mal,  who  allowed  a  smile  to  play  over  its  rugged  fea- 


"  BOILSTONE." 

tures.  Never  have  I  beheld  so  affecting  an  expression 
as  this  poor  beast  betrayed.  Changing  the  tune,  I 
sang  "  Baby  Mine."  The  Iguana  was  now  showing 
signs  of  distress,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  pathos 
of  my  melody  aroused  its  sympathies.  When  "  Baby 
Mine"  was  finished,  summoning  all  my  strength,  I 
began  "  Empty  is  the  Cradle,  Baby  's  gone."  But  it 
was  too  much.  With  a  strong  convulsion  of  grief 
the  animal  turned  on  its  side  and  was  overcome  by 
choking  sobs.  Being  assured  that  we  had  him  now, 
I  went  up  and  dried  his  eyes,  encouraging  him  to  get 
up  and  walk  ;  but  this  was  impossible,  so  we  carried 
him  away,  and  as  we  went  the  woods  re-echoed  to  his 
wails 

I  was  very  glad  to  have  been  able  to  show  this  ex 
periment  to  my  dear  children. 

"  The  power  of  music  over  savage  natures,"  I  said, 
"  is  very  remarkable.  1  was  once  passing  by  the  cage 
of  a  tiger,  and  happened  to  be  singing  rather  sweetly. 
I  heard  a  noise,  and  was  just  in  time  to  elude  the  paw 
which  the  grateful  animal  had  offered  me." 

We  now  approached  a  l.irge  gray  pile  of  granite, 
into  which  a  cave  led.  "A  capital  place,"  I  said, 
"to  store  gunpowder,  should  we  discover  any  in  the 
island." 

A  gurding  brook  ran  down  the  rock,  so  I  named  it 


"  Boilstone  Cave."  Inside  we  could  see  many  sta 
lactites  hanging.  Fritz,  with  his  usual  rashness, 
rushed  in,  and  was  immediately  overcome  by  the 
blast  of  chemical  mephitic  air,  which  escaped  from  a 
side  recess  in  the  cave.  "We  must  get  it  out, at  any 
rate,"  I  said. 

My  brave  wife  immediately  produced  a  dynamite 
bomb  from  her  bag,  and  I  handed  it  to  my  eldest  son 
Fritz,  bidding  him  go  in  and  blow  up  the  recess. 

"  Is  it  not  dangerous,  father  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"  Not  at  all,  my  son.  I  would  do  it  myself,  only  I 
notice  that  your  mother  wants  to  show  me  something, 
and  I  cannot  keep  her  waiting." 

As  my  son  entered  the  cave  and  began  arranging 
the  bomb,  and  pouring  water  into  the  cup  which  was 
to  hold  it,  I  withdrew  to  a  distance,  and  watched  him 
with  the  affectionate  zeal  that  only  a  father  knows. 

Very  soon  a  loud  report  was  heard,  and  the  dan 
gerous  mephitic  cavern  was  no  more.  On  my  asking 
for  Fritz,  my  brave  wife  produced  him  safe  and  sound 
from  her  miraculous  bag,  where  he  had  been  blown 
by  the  force  of  the  explosion.  With  renewed  thank 
fulness  we  went  to  rest,  ready  to  begin  work  on  our 
tree  home  the  next  day. 


CHAPTER   V. 

WE   BUILD   OUR   HOUSE.  —  THE  ZEHRA. —  A  SAIL. 

next  work  was  to 
create  our  aerial 
abode  in  the  tree. 
We  all  joined  very 
heartily  in  this,  for 
we  had  been  up 
trees  before,  in 
Switzerland,  and 
were  anxious  to  get 
up  a  tropical  tree, 
and  see  if  there  was 
any  difference. 

This  one,  which 
had  attracted  the 
notice  of  my  wife 
by  its  unusual  size  and  beauty,  was  many  hundred 
feet  high,  and  so  large  round  th.it  to  measure  its 
circumference  made  a  pleasant  morning  stroll.  I  was, 
therefore,  somewhat  at  a  loss  how  to  begin  work  : 
for  the  trees  I  had  been  up  before  had  not  necessi 
tated  any  knowledge  of  the  art  of  climbing.  So  I 
stood  before  the  colossal  trunk  and  thought. 

Observing  my  anxious  and  careworn  expression 
my  brave  wife  approached  me  and  said,  "  I  think  I 
can  solve  your  problem." 


WE  BUILD   OUR   HOUSE. 


"  What  ptoblem  do  you  tliink  I  am  trying  to  solve?" 
I  asked. 

"  How  to  climb  my  tree,"  said  she,  smiling. 

I  praised  her  for  her  keen  penetration  in  divining 
what  I  was  thinking  about.  '•  But  how  can  you  solve 
my  problem  ?  "  I  continued  sadly. 

''  If  you  will  set  me  upon  a  log  and  build  a  bonfire 
under  me,  the  hot  air  will  inflate  my  skirts,  and  I 
sli.ill  rise  into  the  branches." 

"  Your  idea,"  I  replied,  as  I  fervently  embraced  my 
dear  partner,  "  is  admirable." 

In  the  mean  while  Ernest  and  Jack  collected  dry 
sticks  and  leaves,  which  they  placed  upon  the  back 
of  our  now  affectionate  and  docile  Iguana,  and  thus 
they  were  carried  to  a  large  log  that  lay  conveniently 
beneath  our  proposed  abode.  My  dear  wife  placed 
herself  upon  the  log,  when  we  were  confronted  with 
a  new  obstacle. 

Alas  !   all  our  matches  were  gone. 

Fritz,  whose  ingenuity  sometimes  took  forms  which 
I  could  not  approve  of,  immediately  produced  a  bot 
tle  of  the  Julepa  Attwoodiana  from  his  leathern  pouch, 
and,  after  having  swallowed  several  mouthfuls,  he 
blew  upon  the  dry  kindling,  which  instantly  ignited 
and  burned  with  a  brilliant  and  beautiful  flame.  The 
light  gauze  skirts  of  my  wife  spread  visibly. 

"Up  in  a  balloon,  boys!"  shouted  Fritz,  whose 
hilarity  after  taking  the  Julepa  was  always  most  pain 
ful  to  me. 

"  Your  impertinence,"  I  replied  coldly,  "  merits 
a  .  .  ." 

"  Never  mind  his  impertinence,  father,"  cried  Er 
nest,  rudely  interrupting  me. 

I  turned  to  reprove  him,  when  our  Iguana,  who, 
though  tame  and  well  meaning,  was  notwithstanding 
at  times  very  awkward,  rushed  hurriedly  between  my 
legs.  The  result  was  that  I  tripped  and  fell  heavily 
upon  a  plantation  of  prickly-pears,  which  covered  the 
ground  very  abundantly  at  the  foot  of  the  tree. 

My  children  joined  hands  and  danced  about  me, 
while  I,  seated  upon  the  ground,  menaced  them  an 
grily. 

"  I  feel  just  like  the  Fourth  of  July  !  "  cried  little 
Fr.inz,  jumping  and  clapping  his  hands. 

1  rose,  and  was  about  to  chastise  him  for  his 
disrespect,  when  we  were  all  stopped  by  hearing  loud 
shrieks  of  triumph. 

We  turned  around.  Our  little  bonfire  had  clone  its 
work,  and  we  beheld  the  dear  mother  rising  mnjesti- 
cally  through  the  air.  With  that  wise  forethought 
which  is  one  of  her  most  invaluable  qualities,  she  had 
taken  her  bag  up  with  her,  out  of  which  ran  a  long 
string  that  was  fastened  tightly  to  a  log  that  lay  on 
the  ground.  She  soon  reached  the  branches,  which 
she  cati«ht  hold  of. 


"  Let 's  play  she 's  a  kite,  and  fly  her !  "  cried 
Fritz,  making  for  the  string. 

I  hastened  after  him  to  prevent  such  conduct,  but 
his  dear  mother  was  quite  equal  to  the  occasion. 
Just  as  he  caught  hold  of  the  string,  she  gave  it  a 
sudden  jerk  which  brought  the  anchoring  log  up  from 
the  ground  and  seated  Fritz  quickly  upon  it.  Thus 
she  held  him  dangling  in  the  air,  till  he  was  thor 
oughly  frightened,  and  begged  to  1  e  forgiven  and  let 
down. 

As  I  always  encouraged  any  spirit  of  repentance 
that  my  children  showed  after  misbehaving,  I  readily 
forgave  him,  and  our  work  went  on.  My  wife  pro 
duced  a  derrick  from  her  bag,  and  also  a  number  of 
other  useful  things  for  building,  such  as  bricks,  mor 
tar,  and  ladders.  We  all  went  heartily  about  our 
various  duties,  and  a  scaffolding  was  soon  completed. 
My  wife  laid  the  foundations,  and  built  the  house, 
assisted  by  Fritz.  Jack  and  Franz  carried  mud, 
timber,  and  stones  up  to  them  ;  Ernest  painted  and 
decorated  the  interior,  while  I,  seated  in  a  chair  below 
anxiously  superintended  operations.  In  less  than  a 
month  our  new  mansion  was  complete.  Nor  did  it 
need  protection  from  the  fierce  tropical  sun,  for  the 
season  had  advanced,  and  a  beautiful  leafy  screen 
sheltered  us  all. 

We  began  to  think  of  a  name  to  call  our  house. 
Ernest,  with  his  usual  inimitable  humor,  suggested 
The  Family  Tree,  which  was  unanimously  adopted 
amid  shouts  of  applause. 

It  was  an  ample  house,  with  a  cellar  in  the  main 
trunk  of  the  tree,  and  three  entrances,  in  case  we 
should  be  in  a  hurry  to  get  in  or  out.  We  had  six 
spare  bedrooms  in  case  of  visitors ;  gas  and  hot 
water  on  every  story ;  an  elevator ;  chemical  fire- 
extinguishers  (furnished  from  the  Boilstone  Cave) ;  a 
library,  dining  and  sitting  rooms  ;  and  frieze  and 
dadoes  in  every  apartment,  of  colors  suited  to  its 
special  character.  There  was  a  telephone,  a  phono 
graph,  and  an  electric  bell  in  every  room.  The  last 
touch  was  finished  on  a  Saturday  night,  and  the  next 
day  being  Sunday,  we  all  took  a  rest,  which  was 
very  grateful.  Not  having  any  church  to  attend, 
I  read  my  family  selections  from  my  unpublished 
poems,  which  affected  them  very  much.  As  evening 
drew  on,  we  all  set  about  various  occupations. 

I  had  observed  that  Fritz  had  a  special  place  where 
he  kept  his  bottle  of  Julepa  Attwoodiana,  and,  having 
determined  that  it  was  not  good  for  him  to  pay  too 
much  attention  to  such  things,  I  procured  it  for 
myself,  and  retired  to  the  top  of  the  tree  where  I  felt 
that  my  meditations  would  be  undisturbed  by  the 
noisy  play  of  my  children.  Here  beneath  the  starry 
firmament,  I  took  gastronomical  observations. 

The  calm  stillness  was  presently  broken  by  my  son 


i8 


THE  NEW  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 


'     * ./   ...I-'1",.. •,,,,'!'/"/  / 

v::/..'11'''''/^,'  \Mf//;>v<KN\i.i//f/M'. 
\^>l.u'i-v'""."»'/i/«".  ••"u  "///" 


THE   FAMILY  TREK. 


THE  ZEBRA  —  AN  ARRIVAL. 


Fritz,  who,  seated  upon  a  lower  limb  of  a  tree,  played 
us  sweet  household  melodies  on  an  upright  piano 
that  he  had  found  in  a  corner  of  my  wife's  bag..  Ernest, 
inspired  by  the  music,  climbed  up  on  another  limb, 
a  little  higher,  and"  composed  poetry,  parts  of  which 
he  occasionally  recited  aloud. 

My  wife,  never  forgetful  of  her  household  duties, 
after  having  washed  our  clothes,  fed  a  young  canary 
we  had  caught  a  few  days  before. 

Jack,  in  order  to  test  the  strength  of  our  new  stair 
case,  conscientiously  walked  up  and  down  upon  it, 
while  my  little  Franz  had  a  nice  gay  game  of  hide- 
and-go-seek  at  the  bottom  of  the  tree  with  our  pet 
Iguana,  who  had  become  most  useful  in  keeping  the 
child  in  good  spirits  by  means  of  many  merry  pranks 
of  a  wholesome  and  harmless  nature. 

As  I  looked  down,  and  beheld  through  glimpses 
in  the  rich  tropical  foliage  of  our  Family  Tree  my 
precious  little  brood  thus  happily  occupied,  I  fre 
quently  gave  shouts  of  joy,  in  the  midst  of  my  gastro- 
nomical  observations.  And  as  I  had  made  quite  a 
number  by  this  time,  I  concluded  I  would  take  a  walk 
in  the  jungle.  So  I  descended,  and,  after  having  filled 
my  son  Fritz's  bottle  of  Julepa  Attwoodiana  with 
some  cool  fresh  water  from  a  neighboring  spring,  I  re 
placed  it  in  the  spot  where  I  took  it  from,  and  con 
tinued  my  way. 

I  had  not  gone  more  than  a  mile  before  I  heard  a 
strange  cry,  and,  on  looking  about  me,  I  perceived  it 
came  from  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Wild  Jackass. 

I  felt  I  had  made  a  great  discovery.  For  this 
animal,  if  tamed  and  trained  for  our  service,  would  be 
much  more  useful  in  carrying  burdens  for  us  than 
our  Iguana,  however  well  meaning,  had  hitherto  been, 
since  the  latter  had  a  habit  of  rolling  over  on  his 
back,  and  ^his  he  had  indulged  in  several  times  when 
laden  with  ostrich  eggs  we  had  collected  after  a  hard 
day's  work. 

How  was  I  to  secure  the  Jackass  ? 
I  hurriedly  climbed  a  low  tree  near  by,  and,  aware 
of  the  great  curiosity  that  wild  animals  will  exhibit,  I 
struck  my  watch  (a  Geneva  repeater)  several  times. 
The  brute  ceased  grazing  and  pricked  up  his  ears.  I 
continued  striking  my  watch,  and  he  began  to  move 
towards  the  place  the  sound  came  from.  Soon  he 
was  beneath  the  tree  in  which 'I  had  concealed  myself, 
when  I  suddenly  let  go,  and  landed  upon  his  back. 

Extreme  surprise  rendered  the  animal  perfectly 
docile,  and  he  walked  off  quietly  with  me  upon  him. 
I  had  heard  travellers  tell  of  the  treachery  of  Wild 
Jackasses,  and  had  often  noticed  that  the  infallible 
process  to  tame  them  was  to  bite  their  long  and  tender 
ears.  So  I  gently  leaned  forward,  and,  encouraging  the 
animal  with  my  voice,  I  seized  his  right  ear  in  my 
teeth,  and  bit  it  until  the  blood  ran.  It  was  but  the 


"TAMING  A  JACKASS 


work  of  a  moment.  Contrary  to  my  expectations,  he 
kicked  violently,  and  ran  way  so  rapidly  that  I  was 
unable  to  follow  him. 

After  recovering  from  the  surprise  his  action  had 
occasioned  me,  I  concluded  I  would  not  speak  of  this 
adventure  to  my  family  for  fear  they  should  be  tempted 
to  try  the  same  experiment.  As  I  was  revolving  how 
I  should  explain  the  appearance  of  my  right  eye,  all 
thoughts  were  driven  out  of  my  head  by  the  appear 
ance  of  a  steamship  on  the  horizon. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE  ARRIVAL.  —  OUR  VISITORS.— THE  ANACONDA. 

2^OR  some  moments 
the  appearance  of 
the  steamship  rivet 
ed  me  to  the  spot. 
Never  very  strong, 
my  nerves,  of  late  so 
much  tried  by  our 
tropical  life  and  the 
dangers  it  brought, 
gave  way  sudden 
ly,  and  I  sat  down 
on  the  ground  and 
shook.  The  colos 
sal  and  stately  vessel 
came  up  the  horizon  so  rapidly,  that  I  grew  out  of 
breath  watching  it.  I  thought  of  my  dear  wife  ;  of 
my  sweet  young  brood,  that  we  had  reared  between 
us ;  and  as  the  boat  came  nearer  and  nearer,  I  wept 
very  plentifully.  The  night,  however,  which  always 
comes  very  suddenly  in  the  tropics,  set  in  even  more 


2O 


THE  NEW  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 


THK   FOREIGN   VISITORS. 


rapidly  than  usu.il  this  calm  evening.  The  blood-red 
sun,  which  we  had  all  contemplated  with  joy  and  ad 
miration  from  our  family  tree-top,  as  its  shining  orb 
hovered  above  the  water-Jine,  loth  to  sink  to  rest, 
suddenly  sank  out  of  sight.  The  stars  all  rushed  out 
and  shone  with  a  brilliancy  that  again  moved  me  to 
tears.  When  I  had  recovered  sufficiently  to  rise  from 
the  ground,  which  was  getting  clamp,  l'  pursued  my 
way  back  through  the  forest  "to  our  home,  where  all 
now  were  silent  in  innocent  and  happy  sleep.  I 
climbed  the  stairs  so  rapidly  that  I  fell  down  again, 
and  had  to  repeat  the  operation  of  going  up  again! 
though  most  reluctantly.  The  noise  I  made  awoke 
Ernest,  who  was  always  a  light  sleeper,  and  he  asked 
me  what  was  the  matter. 

"  Your  curiosity,"  I  said  as  I  brushed  my  hat,  "  is 
strangely  ill-timed.  Hand  me  the  air-pistol  at  once, 
and  do  not  stop  to  load  it !  "  , 

The  boy  obeyed,  and  I  hastily  climbed  to  the  high 
est  branch,  where,  but  a  few  hours  since,  I  had  made 
mygastronomical  observations.  1  loaded  the  weapon 
as  I  went,  putting  in  a  double  charge.  Seating 
myself  so  that  the  recoil  could  not  cause  me  incon* 
venience,  I  fired  three  signals  of  distress,  waved  my 
hat,  and  fell  to  the  ground.  Thinking  I  had  better 
not  attempt  a  second  ascent  I  told  Ernest  to  climb 
up  and  look  out  to  sea. 

Ere  the  young  lad  had  well  reached  the  position  I 


had  so  lately  occupied,  a  return  signal  from  the  water 
thundered  through  the  night  air. 

"  We  are  saved,"  I  said  thankfully,  and  began  to 
awake  my  family.  With  the  exception  of  Ernest, 
they  all  slept  very  soundly,  and  I  found  the  most  ex-' 
peditious  as  well  as  most  pleasant  way  of  recalling 
them  to  their  senses  was  to  empty  gently  over  them 
the  pure  spring  water  contained  in  our  gourds. 

Smiling  with  delight,  they  asked  me  why  I  seemed 
so  happy. 

"  Come  and  see  for  yourselves,"  I  replied. 

'  No,  lather,  tell  us,"  said  little  Franz. 

"That  which  is  worth  knowing,"  I  answered,  "is 
worth  taking  trouble  to  find  out  for  one's  self  ;  climb 
up  to  the  top,  my  son,  and  your  energy  will  be  its  own 
reward." 

But  my  lesson  to  the  little  fellow  was  frustrated  by 
joyful  cries  from  Ernest.  "  O,  father  !  A  great  big 
ship !  and  it  has  anchored  in  the  bay." 

"A  ship? "asked  my  brave  wife,  as  she  hurried 
out  of  her  apartment. 

"  A  dressing-gown,"  I  answered,  gravely,  "  is  no 
proper  apparel  for  a  tree-top,  even  at  night.  Go  in 
and  put  on  your  best  clothes,  and  I  will  answer  any 
reasonable  questions." 

Abashed  by  my  remark,  my  wife  hurried  back  to 
her  apartment.  Erelong  my  whole  dear  family  was 
about  me,  eager  to  take  the  long-disused  water- veloci- 


OUR   FOREIGN   VISITORS. 


21 


pedes,  and  go  to  the  steamer.  But  daylight  was  now 
breaking. 

"Your  idea,"  I  said,  "is  not  worth  carrying  out. 
Patience,  when  properly  exercised,  often  saves  many 
tiresome  efforts.  The  crew  of  yonder  vessel  are  now 
putting  out  for  the  shore  in  several  little  boats,  which, 
if  you  use  a  glass,  you  will  readily  see." 

We  all  watched  their  movements  with  interest. 

"  What  if  they  should  be  enemies,  father  ?  "  asked 
Ernest. 

"Your  remark,"  I  observed,  "shows  thought.  In 
that  case,  we  will  retire  to  the  Boilstone  Cave,  and 
with  the  chemicals  there  compound  odors  that  would 
keep  any  foe  at  a  distance." 

"They're  friends,  father!"  cried  Jack,  joyfully; 
and  our  eyes  grew  dim  as  the  English  flag  went  up 
and  floated  proudly  from  the  mainmast. 

Delay  being  no  longer  advisable,  we  all  hurried 
down  stairs. 

"Take  care,"  I  said.  "The  more  haste,  the  less 
speed.  The  longest  way  round  is  often  the  shortest 
way  home.  Pride  goes  before  a  .  ..." 

A  large  root,  which  was  concealed  in  the  long  grass 
through  which  we  were  now  hastening,  caught  the 
extreme  end  of  my  foot,  most  unfortunately.  The 
nearest  object  to  grasp  was  the  long  black  hair  of 
my  dear  wife,  which  floated  behind  her  as  she  ran. 
"  Self-preservation,"  I  said,  as  I  took  hold  of  it,  "  is 
the  first  law  of  existence." 

The  shock  was  so  sudden,  however,  that  my  wife 
tottered,  and  in  endeavoring  to  save  herself,  very  nat 
urally,  she  threw  her  bag  round  Fritz's  neck.  But 
instead  of  standing  straight,  and  thus  saving  our  fall, 
he  clumsily  got  entangled  in  the  folds  of  the  bag,  and 
we  all  came  clown  together, —  so  rapidly,  that  Ernest, 
Jack,  and  Franz,  who  were  hurrying  along  immedi 
ately  behind  us,  toppled  over  our  prostrate  bodies, 
together  with  the  pet  Iguana,  whose  inability  to  turn 
rapidly  is  a  trait  which  it  shares  in  common  with  the 
Alligator  and  the  Crocodile. 

AVe  then  held  a  consultation. 

"  If  any  of  you  had  listened  to  my  warning  about 
haste,"  I  said,  '•  we  should  not  have  come  to  grief." 

"  But,  father,"  said  Jack,  "  you  were  the  first  to  trip." 

"  This  is  no  time  for  hair-splitting,"  I  said  severely. 
"  It  is  clear  that,  if  we  proceed  to  the  shore  in  such  a 
crowd  we  shall  interfere  with  each  other.  Let  all  of 
you,  except  Franz  and  myself,  make  ready  a  lunch 
beneath  some  large  tree ;  he  and  I  will  proceed  to 
the  shore  and  meet  the  strangers.  Should  they  be 
hostile,  Franz's  tender  age  will  move  them." 

We  proceeded  to  the  shore,  and  arrived  just  in  time 
to  witness  the  travellers  step  upon  the  beach. 

With  a  courteous  but  dignified  attitude,  I  spoke  : 
"  Gentlemen,  you  have  come  to  visit  us  to-day,  no 


doubt  curious  to  see  the  lions  of  our  island.  We  are 
glad  to  see  you,  and  to  extend  the  hand  of  our  Re 
public  to  you.  If  your  ancestors  ever  had  anything 
to  do  with  it,  they  would  be  as  proud  of  the  present 
moment  as  I  am." 

"We  are  vera  much  honored,  sare,  wid  your 
politesse  and  complaisance.  I  have  the  pleasure  to 
make  myself  known  to  you,  —  Monsieur  Teatre." 

I  shook  the  gentleman's  hand,  and  he  proceeded 
to  introduce  the  other  distinguished  guests.  I  ex 
changed  mild  and  bland  greetings  with  Monsieur  cle 
al  Row-sham-bow,  who  pulls  a  very  good  oar  in  pne 
of  the  crews,  with  Count  Von  Apollinaris,  with  the 
Marquis  of  Hunyadi-Janos,  and  many  other  distin 
guished  characters. 

We  then  adjourned  to  lunch,  where  my  dear  wife 
acquitted  herself  nearly  as  well  as  I  had  done. 

"  If  there  is  anything  you  do  not  see,  do  not  ask 
for  it,"  I  said  to  the  Marquis  of  Hunyadi-Janos,  who, 
not  understanding  the  language,  turned  to  Baron 
Friderickshall  for  an  explanation.  After  the  banquet, 
each  of  my  dear  children  took  several  of  the  visitors, 
and  we  proceeded  to  entertain  them  with  the  historical 
sights  of  our  island. 

"  C'est  le  cavede  Boilstone,"  said  Fritz,  who  spoke 
French  with  fluency. 

"  Thanks.  I  did  n't  take  chemistry,"  replied  Colo 
nel  Hap,  who,  with  his  daughter,  Miss  Hap,  was 
among  our  Australian  guests.  Here  the  conversation 
became  general. 

"Ah,  Monsieur,"  I  smiled,  "was  you  ever  to  .  .  .  ." 
"The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  reminds  me  of  ...  ." 
"  Martha  Washington,  who  never  liked  .  .  .  ." 
"  Our  pet  Iguana,  when  he  feeds  on  yams  and  .  .  .  ." 
"  Schnapps,  from  Potsdam,  so  gut  und  gar 
nicht 

"  Plymouth  Rock  in  a  storm  with  .  .  .  ." 
"A  paper  collar  that  always  betrays  .  .  .  ." 
"  Humility  which  I  have  inculcated  in  my  children 
from 

"  The  gymnasium,  where  Sarah  Bernhardt  said 
that  she'd  .  .  .  ." 

"  Never  leave  me  alone  in  the  tree  to  take  gastro- 
nomical  observations." 

Our  merry  party  strayed  away  through  the  trees, 
well  pleased  with  the  island.  Miss  Hap,  an  ideally 
sweet  girl,  with  large  round  eyes,  and  great  ringlets 
of  close  curls,  showed  some  rashness  in  wandering 
away  alone.  Indeed,  it  was  most  fortunate  that  my 
eldest  son,  Fritz,  an  ardent  youth,  followed  her  steps 
from  a  distance,  for  as  she  entered  the  jungle  a 
large  Anaconda  sprang  at  her. 

The  intrepid  girl  opened  her  parasol  at  the  animal, 
who  hesitated  for  a  moment,  dazzled  by  the  brilliancy 
of  the  pattern,  and  then  began  to  swallow  it. 


22 


THE  NEW  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 


MISS   HAP   WITH  THE   ANACONDA. 

Miss  Hap,  bound  not  to  give  up  her  property  with 
out  a  struggle,  braced  her  foot  against  a  stone,  and 
tugged.  The  contest,  however,  might  have  proved  a 
doubtful  one,  when  Fritz,  hurrying  up  with  the  air- 
pistol,  shot  the  serpent  in  the  head. 

It  fell  lifeless  to  the  ground,  and  the  grateful  girl, 
turning  to  her  preserver  with  moist  eyes,  smiled  a 
smile  so  full  of  sweetness,  (as  my  son  afterwards 
informed  me,)  that  Fritz  sank  into  a  misty,  happy 
dream,  (these  were  his  own  words,)  and  together 
the  two  wandered  through  the  jungle  under  the  soft 
heat  of  the  sunlight  as  it  came  through  the  thick 
foliage. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FOR   BETTER   OR   FOR   WORSE. 

REJOICED  greatly  in 
the  happy  advent  of  the 
foreign  visitors.  They 
were  indeed  a  pleasant 
break  in  our  little  fami 
ly  circle  ;  a  circle  which, 
though  very  sweet  and 
dear  to  me,  I  had  some 
times  felt  might  grow 
in  many  years  to  have 
an  element  of  sameness 
about  it. 

The  winter  began  to 
draw  on,  and  we  made 
several  little  colonies  : 
one  in  the  Boilstone 
Cave  ;  one  in  a  neighboring  island,  which  Ernest  had 
ingeniously  christened  Snark  Island ;  and  several 


other   equally  desirable  and   agreeable   settlements. 
Every  one  was  happy  and  contented. 

Many  wondrous  tales  were  told  or  read  in  turn  by 
the  boys  and  Miss  Hap  during  the  long  evenings. 
And  when  these  grew  too  exciting  for  healthful  imagi 
nations,  I  would  chasten  the  merriment  by  reciting 
parts  of  my  private  journal,  which  caused  them  to 
think  so  deeply  that  after  a  few  sentences  they  often 
retired  to  their  rooms  to  ponder  until  morning. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  autumn  we  had  hung  up 
the  skin  of  Fritz's  Anaconda  to  dry.  Fastened  to  a 
stout  limb  of  our  family  tree,  it  became  a  portentous 
ornament.  But  a  misfortune  which  happened  to  the 
Marquis  of  Hunyadi-Janos  shortly  afterwards  warned 
us  to  stuff  the  huge  cuticle  of  the  tropical  monster. 

Returning  home  from  a  soirde  on  Snark  Island  late 
one  night,  the  Marquis  had  occasion  to  step  along 
the  limb  from  which  depended  the  serpent.  Just  as 
he  approached  the  animal,  his  foot  slipped,  and  he 
was  precipitated  down  into  the  cavernous  jaws. 

I  was  just  in  my  first  sleep  when  I  was  startled  by 
a  cry.  "  Sacr£  tonnere  !  Nom  de  chien !  Ah  !  " 
and  the  sounds  became  muffled. 

I  awoke  my  dea/r  wife  and  earnestly  requested  her 
to  listen. 

"  A  moi  !  a  moi !  Help  !  I  am  perdu  !  Swallowed 
tout  a  fait !  " 

"  Let  us  hasten  !  "  said  my  wife  springing  up. 

"Rashness,"  I  observed,  firmly  detaining  her  iy!-h 
one  hand,  while  with  the  other  I  emphasized  my  re 
marks,  "  is  ever  a  quality  to  be  eschewed,  —  especially 
after  dark.  If  the  gentleman  is  (as  he  says  himself) 
swallowed,  we  can  sorrow  for  him  in  the  morning." 

"  A  moi !  &  moi  !  " 

"Father,  father!"  cried  little  Franz,  "the  Mar 
quis  of  Hunyadi-Janos  has  tumbled  down  the  Ana 
conda  ! " 

"  Misfortune,"  I  replied,  "may  happen  to  any  one, 
and  instead  of  allowing  excitement  to  get  the  better 
of  us,  we  should  rather  be  thankful  for- oar  own  pres 
ervation." 

Notwithstanding,  I  complied  with  the  lad's  wish, 
and  lighted  a  candle.  Meanwhile,  the  cries  of  the 
Marquis  had  summoned  quite  a  little  gathering.  He 
had  fallen  completely  to  the  end  of  the  serpent,  as 
was  now  made  evident  by  the  somewhat  violent  agi 
tations  of  the  animal's  tail. 

"Get  me  out!"  shrieked  the  voice  inside.  "Je 
meurs  !  " 

"Courage,  mon  ami !  "  I  said  cheerily,  as  I  did  a 
little  light  shivering;  for  pajamas  are  not  a  sufficient 
protection  in  the  rainy  season. 

After  some  trouble  we  persuaded  the  Iguana  to 
bite  a  hole  in  the  Anaconda's  tail,  through  which  we 


STUFFING    THE  ANACONDA. 


THE  WEDDING. 


drew    out    the    unlucky    Marquis.     lie    thanked    us 
warmly,  and  withdrew  to  his  room. 

This  event  decided  us,  and  on  the  morrow  we  be 
gan  to  stuff  the  serpent.  We  found  this  no  light  task. 
After  emptying  into  the  cavern  five  tons  of  hay, 
which  my  brave  wife  gave  us  from  her  bag,  we  con 
cluded  that  operations  must  go  faster.  So  we  con 
structed  a  derrick  in  combination  with  a  pile-driver; 
and  in  three  weeks,  by  aid  of  these  powerful  engines, 
we  had  emptied  two  granite  quarries,  all  the  sea-weed 
about  Snark  Island,  and  the  wardrobe  of  our  wrecked 
vessel  into  the  skin,  and  had  the  gratification  of  see 
ing  as  fine  a  specimen  for  a  zoological  collection  as 
any  one  could  wish. 

I  immediately  built  a  museum  in  a  rock,  where  the 
presence  of  more  mephitic  air  induced  Ernest  with 
his  usual  wit  to  christen  the  building  "  A  Gassy  Mu 
seum." 

Mere  we  put  specimens  of  all  sorts,  and  here  little 
Franz,  who  to  my  great  joy  was  developing  a  fine  taste 
for  Natural  History,  passed  many  a  long  hour,  picking 
out  the  eyes  of  lobsters,  and  watching  the  heart-pul 
sations  of  the  oyster  and  the  clam. 

Thus  passed  nearly  a  year. 


Fritz,  whose  attachment  to  Miss  Hap  was  becoming 
very  evident,  acquainted  me  of  the  fact  one  day  in  the 
spring,  with  many  blushes.  I  rejoiced  at  the  pros 
pect  of  a  permanent  settlement  in  our  dear  island,  and, 
as  Colonel  Hap  professed  himself  equally  pleased, 
arrangements  were  made  for  a  speedy  marriage. 

"Und  was  werde  the  object  sein  of  here  living?" 
asked  Count  Von  Apollinaris,  whose  ideas  flowed 
freely,  and  mixed  readily  with  any  subject. 

"  I  confess,1'  I  replied,  "  that  the  study  of  nature  is 
the  only  one  possible." 

"  And  do  not  you  desire  your  children  to  have 
a  liberal  education?"  asked  Colonel  Hap:  -'we 
need  a  University  here." 

"  M  a  gymnasium,  as  in  Deutschland  !  "  continued 
Apollinaris. 

"Your  idea,  gentlemen,"  I  answered,  "speaks  well 
for  you.  We  will  found  one  at  once,  and  educate  my 
younger  children,  and  the  crews  of  your  ship." 

"We  should  have  a  commencement  to  begin 
with,"  said  Colonel  Hap. 

"  No,  no,  papa !  '  said  Miss  Hap ;  "let  us  have  a 
Class  Day,  and  Fritz  and  I  will  be  married  then  ' " 

I    approved   of  the   plan,    and    kissed    my   future 


THE  NEW  SWISS  FAMILY  ROBINSON. 


daughter-in-law  on  the  forehead,  which  would  have 
pleased  her,  had  she  not  been  preoccupied  at  the 
moment. 

All  was  arranged  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 

On  account  of  my  admirable  qualifications  for  the 
situation,  I  was  unanimously  cliosen  President  of 
the  University.  With  a  view  to  this  position  I  had 
prepared  a  set  of  subscription  books  and  a  report. 
My  dear  wife  was  obviously  best  qualified  for  Secre 
tary.  So  we  built  a  railing,  neat  and  strong,  around 
her,  and  provided  her  with  paper,  pens,  ink,  and 
many  large  books. 

Count  Apollinaris  disappeared  for  some  days.  On 
his  return  he  brought  something  carefully  covered 
up  in  canvas.  On  taking  this  covering  off,  he  dis 
played  to  us  a  most  ingenious  apparatus.  An  index 
needle,  moving  on  a  pivot  dependent  on  two  con 
centric  circles  made  of  galvanized  German  silver, 
pointed  to  a  graded  crescent  of  the  same  metal. 
The  degrees  ranged  from  —  33]  to  33.  The  whole 
was  regulated  by  the  formula 


This,  in  combination  with  factorial  «,  made  the  first 
factor  of  an  expression,  in  which  the  second  was  w, 
representing  weight  or  difficulty,  and  the  third  was  /, 
representing  Time,  not  less  than  one,  and  not  greater 
than  three  hours. 

A  sensitized  plate  was  suspended  by  many  yards 
of  the  strongest  red  tape  over  a  fire-pan.  Connected 
with  this  plate  was  a  balance  that  fed  a  cog-wheel 
which  regulated  the  two  concentric  circles  before 
spoken  of.  A  lever  throwing  <w  or  /  into  opera 
tion,  connected  with  an  escapement  united  to  the 
x-  -}-  2  xy  -\-y2  bar,  was  practicable  for  the  thumb 
and  forefinger.  Any  blue-book  that  needed  valuation 
was  burned  up  in  the  fire-pan.  Its  quality  was  deter 
mined  by  the  lever.  The  flames  heated  the  sensitized 
plate  which  communicated  the  quality  of  the  blue- 
book  expressed  in  terms  of  heat  to  the  needle,  which 
immediately  pointed  to  the  correct  mark,  —  never 
exceeding  33,  nor  less  than  —  33]. 

We  shed  happy  tears  over  this  triumph  of  mechan 
ical  skill,  and  1  appointed  Von  Apollinaris  Professor 
of  German  at  once. 

The  weeks  passed,  and  the  happy  day  dawned. 

I  regretted  that  the  rough  life  which  my  son  Fritz 
had  been  learling  had  left  its  marks  upon  his  dress- 
coat.  But  Mi.ss  Map  kindly  said  that  he  would  be 
presentable  to  her  in  any  costume  whatever. 

My  dear  wife,  who  was  much  admired  by  the  for 
eigners,  made  a  beautiful  cloak  of  skins  for  herself, 
which  became  her  admirably. 

The  Marquis  of  Hunyadi-Janos  ha;l  been  quite 
marked  in  his  attentions  to  her,  but  I  assured  him, 


if  he  wished  to  take  her  away  with  him,  he  would 
find  that  she  preferred  me  to  him. 

"  Though  my  spirit  of  unselfishness,"  I  continued, 
"  forbids  my  throwing  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  such 
a  plan,  I  cannot  reckon  without  my  wife,  as  it  takes 
two  to  make  a  bargain." 

We  smiled  pleasantly,  and  shook  hands. 

The  marriage  was  very  affecting.  The  tropical 
foliage  drooped  in  every  direction.  Lanterns  hung  in 
the  foliage,  invisible  until  night  permitted  them  to 
display  their  gay  colors. 

Crowds  of  visitors  witnessed  the  ceremony.  As 
the  wedding  march  rang  blandly,  grandly,  through  the 
glad  banyan-trees,  the  people  formed  into  a  long  pro 
cession,  which,  headed  by  the  brass  band,  wound  in 
and  out  of  the  shrubbery,  till  it  seemed  to  me  that  I 
saw  three  processions  instead  of  one. 

The  ship's  chaplain  read  the  service,  Colonel  Hap 
standing  near  his  daughter,  and  my  dear  wife  seated 
close  by,  dissolved  in  tears  of  happiness  and  grati 
tude. 

"  Who  giveth  this  woman  away  ?  " 

"  I  can  ...  er  ...  that  is  ...  1  do,"  said 
Colonel  Hap,  hurriedly,  while  the  enchanted  specta 
tors  sang  the  Class  Day  song,  composed  expressly  for 
the  occasion,  —  poetry  by  Ernest,  whose  facile  pen 
could  accomplish  nearly  anything,  and  music  by  Fritz, 
who  had  passed  the  winter  at  his  upright  piano,  play 
ing  duets  with.  Miss  Ha]). 

When  the  ceremony  was  completed,  with  loud 
cheers  we  joined  hands  and  .danced  round  the  nod 
ding  trees.  After  this  we  went  to  the  banquet,  where 
we  found  that  the  Iguana,  taking  advantage  of  the 
fact  that  general  attention  was  diverted  from  himself, 
had  eaten  up  a  large  quantity  of  the  wedding  cake. 
His  imprudence  caused  him  a  good  deal  of  pain  later 
in  the  evening. 


AFTER    THE    WEDDING. 


I  made  an  appropriate  speech.  "  The  fact  of  the 
wedding  cake  being  gone,"  I  said,  smilingly,  •'  matters 
very  little  indeed,  since  we  have  the  Julepa  Attwood- 
iana  in  large  quantities." 

"  Hear  !  hear  !  "  shouted  many  voices,  while  they 
raised  their  glasses,  and  made  them  touch  with  a 
musical  ring,  which  so  expressively  denotes  a  joyful 
unanimity  of  sentiment. 

"  Let  us  drink  to  the  success  of  the  College  —  Uni 
versity  I  mean." 

"  Hear  !  hear  !  " 

And  the  unanimity  with  which  we  clinked  the 
glasses  reduced  us  to  using  gourds  for  the  remaining 
toasts. 

"  Long  life  to  the  young  couple  !  " 

"Hear!  hear!  " 

Then  began  a  series  of  toasts. 

"  Three  cheers  for  the  chaplain  who  married  us  !  " 
said  Fritz. 


Loud  cheering  rent  the  air. 

"  Three  cheers  for  my  dear  father,  the  President !  " 

The  cheers  seemed  to  diminish  in  their  intensity  ; 
so,  thinking  that  our  guests  were  (not  unnaturally) 
fatigued,  I  rose,  and  our  pleasant  party  broke  up. 

We  proceeded  to  the  Family  Tree,  where  a  large 
fire  was  kindled,  and  suddenly  a  loud  report  rent  the 
air,  and  our  foliaged  home  was  no  more. 

The  President's  Report  had  blown  it  up  ! 
***** 

The  night  has  closed  around  me.  I  am  feeling  very 
well,  and  as  my  dear  children  go  on  their  honeymoon 
to-morrow,  I  close  this  journal  of  our  dangers  and  our 
joys,  and  send  it  with  them,  that  others  in  the  great 
world  may  know  of  our  life,  and  sorrow  and  rejoice 
with  its  vicissitudes. 

FINIS. 


OVERDUE. 


1933 


REC'D 

APR    3'64-5FM 


LD  21-50m-l,'c 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


